Many people enjoy photography while hiking. There are certain types of photographs taken while hiking which demand a long exposure time where the camera is held almost completely still to achieve a good photo. Examples are long exposures of waterfalls or streams to get smooth looking water, pictures taken at night, and blurring the motion of moving subjects relative to stationary backgrounds. Normally getting such a photo requires the use of a tripod. While hiking, carrying a tripod can be cumbersome and add additional weight. However, hikers often use hiking poles for stability on uneven terrain.
The present invention describes an apparatus that can be used as a hiking pole and which can also stabilize a camera to the degree required for good looking long exposure photographs. This invention serves both the function of the hiking poles and the tripod without adding much additional weight or bulk to be carried by the hiker.
There are many examples in prior art which combine hiking poles with a monopoles. These consist of a hiking pole with a standard screw on camera mount on top. These help stabilize a camera when taking pictures but do not provide the degree of stability required to take good exposures of over half a second in length because a monopole will sway side to side even when the user tries to hold it completely still.
Prior art also describes using ropes or other tethers to help stabilize a camera. U.S. Pat. No. 8,491,205 describes a tripod consisting completely of tethers. However these other devices generally require the user to provide an upward force against the tether. This means that the camera is not completely isolated from the user which causes a degradation of the photograph due to unintended vibrations.
Prior art, for example U.S. Pat. No. 7,905,667, also describes walking sticks which can transform into tripods but these systems are mechanically complex and often have legs narrower than the full width of the hiking pole which makes them prone to failure. Such devices are likely more expensive to manufacture than the current invention.